Missouri State and Local Open Container Laws

Abstract

In 1998, Congress and the President passed the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), which aimed to encourage states to enact and enforce an open container law that prohibits possession of any open alcoholic beverage container and the consumption of any alcoholic beverage by both the driver and passenger (see Report 29-2005 for more detail). The current Missouri open container law applies only to the driver, making Missouri one of thirteen states (AK, AR, CO, CT, DE, IN, MO, MS, MT, TN, VA, WV, WY) that allow passengers to drink, despite TEA-21. An increasing number of Missouri municipalities, however, are adopting ordinances that apply to the passenger. Current state legislation, if passed, would override local open container ordinances to allow open wine containers to be transported. This may indicate a possible disconnect between open container law preference at the local and state levels in Missouri.